Daily Campello Art News

R. Brent Erickson at the Art League Gallery

2026-10-07T05:19:00.000-04:00

“My ultimate aim is to provide new perspectives, encouraging viewers to re-examine the seemingly mundane aspects of their surroundings."

— R. Brent Erickson, Oct. 2026 Solo Artist Exhibitor

The Art League presents a dynamic lineup of October exhibitions celebrating artistic range, personal narrative and medium. On view this month in our galleries from Oct. 7 to Nov. 8 is the Open Exhibit as well as R. Brent Erickson’s Celebrating Realism from Oct. 8 to Nov. 8.

The October Open Exhibit is juried by Paul Sattler, an artist specializing in imaginative figurative painting, drawing, printmaking and other two-dimensional art forms. This exhibit features 88 works spanning ceramics, collage, drawing, glass, fiber art, mixed media, painting, photography and printmaking, showcasing the breadth and variety of work created by our artists.

In Celebrating Realism, Erickson turns a careful eye toward the everyday, using disciplined observation to capture moments that might otherwise go unnoticed. His paintings explore the intricate counterplay of light and color, inviting viewers to pause, look more closely and discover the extraordinary within the ordinary. “My work is consistently drawn to the intrinsic beauty found within ordinary objects and scenes, particularly fascinated by the ever-changing interplay of light and color that breathes life into them,” said Erickson. “My ultimate aim is to provide new perspectives, encouraging viewers to re-examine the seemingly mundane aspects of their surroundings."

All exhibitions are free and open to the public.

Wanna go to an opening this Friday?

2026-10-06T03:04:00.000-04:00

The Zenith Gallery is the District's longest running independently owned commercial fine arts gallery, and this coming Friday, Oct 9, 4-8 pm & Saturday, Oct 10, 2-6 pm, they have a "Meet the Artists" reception for their The Inimitable Dolly Parton exhibition honoring the spectacular life of Dolly Parton!

FEATURED ARTISTS: Michelle Anderson, Amy Bandel, Caroline Benchetrit, Joanathan Bessaci, Prudence Bonds, Ram Brisueno, Anne Calamuci, F. Lennox Campello, Diane Dompka, Buzz Duncan, Mentwab Easwaran, Ed Garner, Margery Goldberg, Philip Hazard, Tarsha Howard, Ronni Jolles, Karen Kaplan Klein, Joan Konkel, Joe Largess, Michela Mansuino, Becky McFall, Nancy Nesvet, Reuben Neugass, Carol Newmyer, Keith Norval, Meredith Osterman, Katharine Owens, Khemet Parker, Anna Podris, Qrcky, Floyd Roberts, Suzy Scarborough, Gavin Sewell, Helen Silberminz, Bradley Stevens, Tejasi Thatte, Mia Williams, Marcie Wolf-Hubbard, Curtis Woody, and more!

My works in this show are below - you can purchase them at this link or call/email Zenith.

"Homage to Dolly Parton"
2026 F. Lennox Campello, 12x12 inches.
Original charcoal and conte drawing with embedded digital component.

Dolly Parton Diet Tips
2026 Original graphite drawing by Campello on broken Bisque

With love to Dolly
2026 Graphite drawing on Bisque by Campello

Finding Meaning in Small Spaces

2026-10-05T21:51:00.000-04:00

Studio art alum Marcie Wolf-Hubbard ’83 transforms memories into miniature works of art while helping others tell their own stories.

Read the whole article at University of Maryland here...

Many Countries in One: A Call for Immigrant Artists

2026-10-04T10:42:00.000-04:00

Call for Artists for "Many Countries in One: Immigrant Artists" at the gorgeous ARTSpiration venue in Frederick!

Here is the link for new artists to apply - all preselected artists are already in the show, but as this new venue is sooo much bigger, we can select some more:

https://opportunities.wearecreativewest.org/opportunity/17765/CAFE

Michele Banks: Forces of Nature

2026-10-03T12:56:00.000-04:00

If there's a harder working artist than Michele Banks on this planet, then that artist is clearly not human!

October 11, 2-4 pm is the Opening Reception for Forces of Nature, Banks' latest show at Harmony Hall, in Ft. Washington, MD.

Nine of the Ink Paintings showing at Harmony Hall

She notes that:

These 16 ink paintings on yupo explore the invisible forces that shape our world—from atomic motion to the vast curvature of space. Drawing inspiration from physics and biology, they merge scientific imagery with a fluid, organic aesthetic, balancing precision with spontaneity. If you’re into physics, if your favorite color is blue, and/or if you want to see some of my larger work, this is the event for you. If you can’t make the opening, the paintings are on view from September 28-November 7.

Hispanic Heritage Month Exhibition in North Bethesda, Maryland

2026-10-02T20:38:00.000-04:00

The human cyclone known as Laura Ramirez-Drain has curated a small group exhibition celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month in North Bethesda, Maryland. The exhibition is sponsored by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Maryland. The artwork will remain on display through Friday, October 30, 2026

Opening Event
Saturday, October 10, 2026
5:30–7:30 p.m.
The Terraces at Tuckerman Lane
5550 Tuckerman Lane
North Bethesda, MD 20852
Free and open to the public

The Lenster at Voyage Maryland Magazine!

2026-10-01T03:01:00.000-04:00

Check out this article on me at Voyage Maryland Magazine!

Link: https://voyagemaryland.com/interview/rising-stars-meet-florencio-lennox-campello-of-dc-surrounding-areas

The mess that is the Campello studio

2026-09-30T01:52:00.000-04:00

The immense mess that is my studio (a.k.a. the laundry room)... before and after.

Athenaeum Gallery invites artists and curators to submit show proposals

2026-09-28T01:46:00.000-04:00

Athenaeum Gallery invites artists and curators to submit show proposals - details here.

Deadline: 11:59 p.m. MDT Sep. 30, 2027

Women Artists of the DMV: The Thank You Show at the BlackRock Center for the Arts

2026-09-26T21:00:00.000-04:00

Great artists' talk at the Women Artists of the DMV: The Thank You Show at the BlackRock Center for the Arts!

Juried Exhibition Grant RFA Opens Oct 19

2026-09-22T02:03:00.000-04:00

Save the date! CAH requests applications for its FY 2027 Juried Exhibition Grant (JEG), which provides support for District-based artists to exhibit their work in a juried, themed visual art exhibition in CAH's Eye Street Gallery.

The exhibition, which is scheduled to take place June 10 - August 6, 2027, will explore water and waterways as sites of stewardship, spiritual reflection, environmental justice, recreation, adventure, and collective futures. Of special interest are works about the Anacostia watershed, the Potomac River Basin, the Chesapeake region, local Indigenous water knowledge, and the many human and ecological communities shaped by our waterways.

Artists may also wish to engage with national and/or global experiences of peoples who navigate both environmental risk and environmental beauty.

Booth at Affordable Art Fair in New York City

2026-09-16T17:11:00.000-04:00

We're at the Affordable Art Fair in NYC through this coming Sunday! Works by Anne Cherubim, Dora Patin, J. jordan Bruns and the kid!.

Apply to Many Countries in One: Immigrant Artists

2026-09-10T05:44:00.000-04:00

Call for Artists for "Many Countries in One: Immigrant Artists" at the gorgeou ARTSpiration venue in Frederick!

Here is the link for new artists to apply - all preselected artists are already in the show, but as this new venue is sooo much bigger, we can select some more:

Frida Kahlo and the Bat

2026-09-09T01:47:00.000-04:00

Frida Kahlo and the Bat - by Florencio Lennox Campello

rida Kahlo and the Bat - by Florencio Lennox Campello

The Lenster on Canvas Rebel Magazine!

2026-09-08T05:59:00.000-04:00

Check out this cool article on CANVAS REBEL Magazine about yours truly!

Link: https://canvasrebel.com/meet-florencio-lennox-campello/

Voices Through Visuals at Del Ray Artisans Gallery

2026-09-05T13:08:18.672-04:00

Last night was the opening for the Celebrating Hispanic Heritage: Voices Through Visuals at Del Ray Artisans Gallery, show curated by the human tornado known as Laura Ramirez Drain!

The place was packed, with over 200 people being counted in over the 4 hours that I was there as the awards juror.

The curator did such an exceptional job in selecting the works, that it was immediately apparent that I was in for a very tough night in awarding the top three prizes and the four honorable mentions!

Frida Kahlo's iconic image was ever present as multiple artists interpreted her image, including powerful works by David Amoroso and Lian Sever.

Also liked the entries by Blanca Belisario, Evgenia Andreeva, Silvia Martinez, Amy Marx and many others!

Prizes awarded as follows:

First Prize: Gloria Valdez for her spectacular double self portrait.

Second Prize: Luis del Valle for Frida with Butterflies.

Third Prize: Paloma Vasquez for Drowning Quietly.

Honorable Mention: Leilani Checo for La Paleta de Fresa.

Honorable Mention: Kelly MacConomy for De Generacion en Generacion.

Honorable Mention: Betsy Jones for her tiny work Rosario and Alex: Secret Lovers.

Honorable Mention: Walter Gordon for La Llorona II.

First Prize winner Gloria Valdez

Third Prize Winner Paloma Vasquez

Paloma Vasquez - Drowning Quietly

Kelly MacConomy - De Generacion en Generacion

Betsy Jones - Rosario and Alex: Secret Lovers

Leilani Checo - La Paleta de Fresa.

Walter Gordon - La Llorona II

Frida with Butterflies by Luis del Valle

The first Prize winner by Gloria Valdez "Tarasca"

Cruisin'

2026-08-31T13:57:00.000-04:00

My daughter Elise is one of the planet's top-of-the-food-chain elite travel agent to the stars and she's got us a great 3-day cruise to Ensenada, Mexico! You can reach her at venturesbyelise@gmail.com

Many Countries in One

2026-08-31T04:47:00.000-04:00

Call for Artists for "Many Countries in One: Immigrant Artists" at the gorgeou ARTSpiration venue in Frederick!

Here is the link for new artists to apply - all preselected artists are already in the show, but as this new venue is sooo much bigger, we can select some more:

Reading Road Studio celebrates 10th Anniversary!

2026-08-30T12:33:00.000-04:00

READING ROAD STUDIO CELEBRATES ITS 10TH ANNIVERSARY.

AT PYRAMID ATLANTIC August 29 – October 4, 2026

RUMINATIONS: Our Stories IN PAPER

As a contemporary perspective, this exhibition brings together many of the artists who have generously contributed their ideas and visual explorations to Reading Road Studio. Presented as a smaller companion papermaking atelier to Pyramid Atlantic’s studios, the exhibition celebrates the first decade of creative exchange and experimentation, and affiliated archives.

Founded in 2016 by Helen Frederick in Silver Spring, Maryland, Reading Road Studio was created to offer artists an intimate, collaborative environment for exploring works in and on paper, artist books, installation, and critical conversations around visual and cultural literacy.

The studio emphasizes hand papermaking as an art form and provides opportunities for artists interested in papermaking as a translucent material, in combination with print media and mixed media, and as a painterly or dimensional element within their work. At Reading Road Studio, dialogue about contemporary art remains deeply connected to past traditions while continually inventing new concepts of materiality.

Featuring paper-cast life-size gold leaf doors, a translucent endangered species installation, printed Chinese papers, exquisite custom paper drawings, large scale pulp paintings, innovative artist books, and more, Ruminations: Our Stories IN PAPER celebrates the first decade of Reading Road Studio and the possibilities of hand papermaking.

Featured artists are: William B. Adair, Maria Barbosa, Oletha DeVane/Chris Kojzar, Elsabe Johnson Dixon, Cheryl Edwards, Susan Firestone, Helen Frederick, Emily Fussner, Ellen Hill, Lisa Hill, Mia Holtan, Rick Hungerford, Aziza Gibson Hunter, Fleming Jeffries, David Joo, Jen Lillis, June Linowitz, Randi Reiss- McCormack, Andrea McCluskey, Chris Mona,Tom Nakashima, Tongji Philip Qian, Alice Quatrochi, Preston Sampson, Joyce J. Scott, Lisa Sheirer, Elzbieta Sikorska, Buzz Spector, Lynn Sures, and Yuriko Yamaguchi.

Reading Road Studio, 8707 Reading Road, Silver Spring, MD 20901

Goodbye Dolly

2026-08-25T23:57:00.000-04:00

Breaks my heart to note that Dolly Parton died today at age 80. She was one of a kind in so many wonderful ways!

Tomorrow the Sun Will Rise: The Phillips Collection Juried Exhibition

2026-08-22T11:04:19.005-04:00

Juried by Leila Grothe, Operations Manager at the Ruth Arts Foundation and Jordan Martin, the former Curatorial Production Manager at the Washington Project for the Arts (WPA), and curated by Tie Jojima is Curator of Global Contemporary Art at The Phillips Collection and Tsedaye Makonnen, an award-winning interdisciplinary artist, the current exhibition "Tomorrow the Sun Will Rise" at The Phillips Collection continues the refreshing newish approach by the Phillips to become a local museum who looks in its own backyard to showcase our area's artists.

The call for artists received about 1,500 entries, which is more than enough proof for the hunger that area artists have for this kind of call. And I am about to confess that until today, I had no idea that this call for artists existed, and I suspect that had I received a news release or any indication that the call was active, once announced her they would have probably received 3,000 entries!

Of the 1,500 entries, 56 works were selected by the jurors, and it includes a refreshing number of "new" artists - and when I say "new", I mean new to me, which counts for something after almost 40 years of being around the DMV visual art scene and curating over 200 exhibitions. On the other hand, there are a lot of "out of town" artists from Baltimore, which is technically not the DMV, and so.... Anyway, back to the "new" artists: This is GOOD and my kudos to the Phillips and the jurors and curators for being able to reach deep into the local area and giving these new artists a showcase at one of the planet's most distinguished venues!

Also noted that the jurors, when they liked someone's work, opted for including more than one work by that artist, which is unusual, as jurors often opt for adding more artists, rather than multiple works from one.

There are also some well-known DMV area artists such as Alexandra Silverthorne, Mary Early, Cianne Fragione, Leslie Holt, Joey Mánlapaz, Gail Shaw-Clemons and others, but the vast majority are refreshing new names.

I was especially taken in by Baltimore's Mark Armbruster's entry titled “How long will it take for the sea level to rise two feet? I mean, think about it, if your ice cube melts in your glass it doesn’t overflow; it’s displacement. I mean, this is some of the things they’re talking about mathematically and scientifically..."

How long will it take for the sea level to rise two feet? I mean, think about it, if your ice cube melts in your glass it doesn’t overflow; it’s displacement. I mean, this is some of the things they’re talking about mathematically and scientifically... by Mark Armbruster

I gotta admit that I am a sucker for artists who not only create great art, but also take the time to come up with great titles that transport the art from the visual to the mentally sublime... well done Mr. Armbruster!

Paloma Vianey from DC has a couple of pieces in the show, both of which show not only well-honed painting skills, but also intelligent presentation.

Chamarra No. 30: Viva México by Paloma Vianey
30 x 26 x 0.5
Medium: Oil on canvas and zipper

Finally, I was also very impressed by Aishwariya Chandrasekar's small but packed with visual action embroideries on cotton cloth.

The artists in the show are:

Negar Ahkami, Arlington, VA

Sobia Ahmad, Silver Spring, MD

Mark Armbruster, Baltimore, MD

Hannah Atallah, Baltimore, MD

Aliana Grace Bailey, Baltimore, MD

Sasha Baskin, Baltimore, MD

Diego Borgsdorf, Washington, DC

Kara Braciale, Falls Church, VA

Danyela June Brown, Washington, DC

Thea Canlas, Baltimore, MD

Adam Chamy, Washington, DC

Christina Chan, Washington, DC

Aishwariya Chandrasekar, Columbia, MD

Alexandra Chiou, Arlington, VA

Se Jong Cho, Baltimore, MD

C.S. Corbin, Washington, DC

Pamela Crockett, Baltimore, MD

Mary Early, Washington, DC

Erin Fostel, Baltimore, MD

Cianne Fragione, Washington, DC

Emily Francisco, Washington, DC

Kyle Hackett, Washington, DC

Leslie Holt, Takoma Park, MD

Kei Ito, Baltimore, MD

Savannah Faith Jackson, Washington, DC

Omari Jesse, Washington, DC

David Joo, Alexandria, VA

Khin, Washington, DC

Don Kimes, Rockville, MD

Sharon Cheuk Wun Lee, Washington, DC

Madyha Leghari, Hyattsville, MD

Ringo Lisko, Baltimore, MD

Joey Mánlapaz, Washington, DC

Aynex Mercado, Frederick, MD

Margaret Murphy, Baltimore, MD

Danielle Mysliwiec, Takoma Park, MD

Abdulrahman Naanseh, Fairfax, VA

Javaid Nayyar, Washington, DC

Jhon Ochoa, Chevy Chase, MD

Katie O’Keefe, Baltimore, MD

Nami Oshiro, Falls Church, VA

Mojdeh Rezaeipour, Oakton, VA

Gail Shaw-Clemons, Washington, DC

Alexandra Silverthorne, Washington, DC

Anne C. Smith, Washington, DC

Bria Sterling-Wilson, Owings Mills, MD

Melissa Sutherland Moss, Baltimore, MD

Paloma Vianey, Washington, DC

This special exhibition is on through September 20th.

What if art lovers from across Maryland could discover your work?

2026-08-21T18:09:15.778-04:00

Having an open studio - even if your studio (like mine) is also known as the laundry room - is one of the best, tried and true ways to easily expose your work! And you constant readers know how I stress how artists need to work to get their work seen as much as possible!

This series was created to help all artists learn how to open their studios, but is especially focused on preparing for the upcoming Artist Open Studios tour of Maryland.

Since 2024, Maryland Artist Collective's Artist Open Studios Tour has brought Maryland artists and art lovers together for two days of studio visits, art discovery, and personal connection. Every year they have grown exponentially. More artists, more locations, and more sponsors that generate buzz around the state. This year, we’re building together an even stronger tour, and we want to show you how to be part of it.

In this free informational webinar, you’ll learn how participating in the Tour can help you expand your audience, build relationships with prospective collectors, and sell your work commission-free in your own space.

They cover:

How AOS can expand your reach across Maryland through statewide marketing, publicity, and promotion
How your work stays visible beyond Tour weekend through your year-round AOS artist profile
How art lovers discover and find you through the interactive map and professionally designed Tour Guide
What marketing tools AOS provides to help you promote your own open studio
What resources and guidance you’ll receive to help you prepare for a successful Tour
How to participate if you don’t have a studio, including options for sharing another artist’s studio or joining a group location
What participation involves, including key dates, fees, deadlines, and registration
You’ll leave with a clear picture of how the Artist Open Studios Tour works, what AOS provides, and what you need to do to participate.

Ophelia

2026-08-15T10:52:00.000-04:00

Ophelia
Graphite & Conte drawing on broken, unfired Bisque by F. Lennox Campello

Homage to Frazetta

2026-08-14T22:50:00.000-04:00

Homage to Frank Frazetta
Graphite & Conte drawing on broken, unfired Bisque by F. Lennox Campello

Ayn Rand

2026-08-13T22:48:00.000-04:00

Homage to Ayn Rand
Graphite & Conte drawing on broken, unfired Bisque by F. Lennox Campello